by P. S. Power
Doing it while she made the first call of the day, deciding that she needed to at least try for all her people. Starting with Calley Hale. After all, the woman, knowing it or not, had sex with her mother. She was a Bat Shifter, making that within her personal rules, but if she found out about it from a different source it would just make sense to think that Avery would be upset by it. She wasn’t, since Leslie didn’t have a choice, or hadn’t at the time. Then, for all she knew her mother enjoyed other women that way. Or even liked to do things with a lot of people of different types.
That tried to climb into her head, which she allowed, but only in abstract. She really didn’t need to know the numbers or what her mother had done that way in her life. Not all of it was wonderful, as it turned out. Some of the men, of The Gray, had used her without intending to marry at all, more than once. Avery would have probably been treated to the same, except for a small spot of being a Death Serpent. After the first change it normally took a month for the first one to present himself, demanding to be pleasured.
It was a part of life that she’d been totally shielded from. Along with the other things that the women got up to in secret. Avery had lived with them all, her entire life, and never even guessed at what was going on that way. There were signs, now that she knew what to look for. People asking to be alone, to talk. Women coming back from the stream, flushed and tousled. After a bit she turned away from that part of things, and focused on her phone, the number already dialed.
“Hale here. Go.”
It was a different way of answering the phone and sounded hurried and a little upset.
“This is Rome. Calling to check in. Also to say I found my mother? Leslie from the party. Shape changed by The Rotted. Enslaved. I secured an improved deal for her. Or, really, Mark did. He sold himself to the Demon to protect her. The Technician made certain we did it in a way that will work. I was given a Greater Demon mentor, to secure control over me. Bente, The Pristine. The Fashion Demon, who doesn’t seem to want to abuse me at all, so far. Or expects me to be Eve. I have a new boyfriend, the Human, Phillip Hart. A school mate. He’s gifted in a lot of ways. Now, what’s up on your side of things?”
She sounded very terse, Avery knew, clipped and hurried, but Calley just went silent for a moment. When she spoke, it was in much the same fashion.
“I’m getting reports of missing people. Low powered ones. Our best sources are telling us that it seems to be kidnapping, but done very well. All from the U.S. and Canada. Do you know anything about that?”
It was her turn to freeze for a moment, but she managed to keep going soon enough that the call didn’t have a chance to get awkward.
“Three people from school seem to be missing. Friends of The Rotted and Technician. Me as well. None of them are slaves, which is specific I think. As in that takes inside information to understand what would happen if an enslaved person were stolen away. You should get with them and see if they know more. It seemed like it, but I was told to wait.”
That got a groan, but after a moment Hale spoke again.
“I’ll do that. Good to hear about your mother. Tyler can get her free… I’d set that up for you, but The Rotted…”
“Yeah. Also, leaving her a slave for now gives her some protection from other Greater Demons. I think that’s about as well as I can do for her right now. Talk to you soon?”
“Soon.” Then the call ended, instantly.
It occurred to her that she didn’t really need the extra worry at the moment. Three missing people from her life meant that she needed to go and find them. That wasn’t her skill set, however. Interestingly, Tarsus passed information to her then that was different than she would have expected, given her thoughts. Instead of showing her how to best find her people, there was instruction on how to reach a meditative state that would basically turn her emotions off for a while. Only while she held her mind still in the right places, but it would, she thought, allow her to think clearly.
She tried it while she found Eric Weise’s cell number and called him directly.
“Hello? Eric Weise here… I don’t recognize this number.” The man sounded relaxed and affable, which was slightly different than the last time they’d spoken. Then he’d seemed pretty tense. It had been an emergency at the time however. Also, he hadn’t been dealing with a stranger.
“Hi, Eric. Avery Rome here. I heard that you’d gotten a new job. Are you all right? Do you need help that I can provide?”
It was very direct, but the instant her name was spoken there was a soft gasp.
“Avery! I mean, Ms. Rome… Thank you for being concerned. Things are in hand for the time being. We do have some reports of missing Mages, but that’s a low-level investigation right now.”
“Get with Calley Hale on that. The Shifters and some Greater Demons have similar things going on. My best guess is that they’re hostages. I don’t really have enough information on the subject. This is my new number. I finally got a phone, so, you can call me on this, if you need me. Keep in touch. I should go now. My shift starts in a few minutes.”
That was just the truth. In fact, she noticed that Zack had gone to the other room, to wait on people already. She hurried to the back, while Eric finished the call for them.
“Thank you so much for thinking of us in this dark time. I will try to keep up with you. Until we speak again.”
“Until then.”
Avery jogged then, putting the phone in her front pocket. It was handy, but lumpy. A thing that she needed to fix, since Bente wouldn’t be pleased with that kind of thing, if she saw it. Carrying a bag around just for that and makeup didn’t make a lot of sense either. Not for her active life. Something like a back pack would be fine, but not when she had a dress on. It would take some time for her to work the idea out. Maybe a very pretty back pack with decorations would work, if she could make it correctly.
After clocking in, with several minutes to spare, she moved straight to the node room, through the carved owl door. The inside of the place had other carvings on the walls, making fine patterns and decorations. Inside there was what seemed like a very large family of five. As in they were all very heavy set, though the man and two boys held a lot of muscle under their blubbery skin. She didn't question it, but when she got to the location with the first man, the Elder, she understood why that was.
The place was a frozen desert. Cold enough that she left instantly, to get the others, one by one. By the time the last was finished, the youngest boy, she was halfway to being frozen. As in her flesh was hard and unyielding when she touched it.
Zack smiled at her, and nodded.
“You’ll be fine. Yetrians. Their home world has a balmy daily high temperature of a hundred below zero, Celsius. Walking around here is a lot like being in a furnace for them. They can take it, but I bet they’re glad to be home. Now, I have the rest of the night, so why not take off early and see about your other tasks. You said that Phillip is coming in later.” It wasn’t a question at all, since he knew that she’d spoken those words.
Avery explained, since Zack might need to help her with things, given it was part of their bargain for the schoolboy.
“At around six or seven. I expect him to be late, to be honest. He has to use the shortcuts to get here if he can. If he does, he gets to have sex. With one of the Alede. I…” She was going to go into the whole plan she had, but he nodded first.
“I see. That only works so well. Making sure he has that need met is a good start, but he needs to associate that with you, as the provider of such things. Also as part of it. Given that has to be about as interesting to you as watching paint dry, you’ll have to work out how to do that. I won’t tell you what to do, but don’t get lazy on it. He can get laid by the girls here just for asking, which won’t take him long to work out.”
She nodded.
“I just suggested that if he’s going to do that, he use the shortcuts to get here. Is that not enough?”
There was a shrug then
.
“It depends on your goals with him. If you want a real relationship, then no. Not really. If you’re setting yourself up as his mentor, then… Possibly. If you expect marriage, well, in that case, don’t let him be a Vampire or a line walker. In the long run having that much power will make poor husbands out of most men. Why bother working for a relationship, if you can get all the perks for free?”
Her mother had told her similar things as a girl. That saying had involved a cow and milk, but the idea was the same. Even if it didn’t fit the life that she’d known would likely be coming for her daughter. It was interesting, but it had really been about how her mother hoped for better for Avery than had been her lot in life. She was clearly distant in blood from most of The Gray men, unlike her mother. Enough that she might have married at a young age, safely.
Not just used to slake their carnal desires, like Leslie had been too much of the time.
She shook herself, and held to the meditation that Tarsus had shown her.
“Right. I’m not looking for that with him. It’s more about linking him to me for later. As friends, but close enough that in twenty years he’ll be fond of me. I hope. Now, I need to go shopping if that’s all right? Material, some tools. Probably more makeup. Bente, the version in my head? She keeps suggesting how I could fix mine. Also… Tarsus keeps hanging around, offering suggestions. That’s not normal. I know because he told me that he regularly hides his own information from people. I have that for some reason. A trick or trap, do you think?”
She felt stupid and slow suddenly, but Zack actually looked at her for a while then nodded.
“Almost certainly. Then again, it could just be that he thinks you might be useful someday. Like what you’re doing with Phil. Only with less cuddly time. After all, you don’t care about that part of things, so it would be wasted effort for him to try that. This way you associate him with being helpful, so if he needs you for anything, later… Well, then it will make sense for you to repay the favor. You aren’t a Greater Demon, after all. We’re pretty much a bunch of jerks. Dragons aren’t nearly that bad, so it’s worth taking a risk on you.”
She nodded, since it was all probably just the truth.
“I’ll be in and out then. Thanks.”
He looked at her closely for a bit, then leaned in, looking around first.
“Be careful, Avery. You’re a powerful being, but you’re on a playing field with things that are more so. Not that you ever had a choice in that. From the moment that your father decided that your mother was going to have his child, things have been put in motion for you. For the most part you’ve let yourself be washed away by that. It’s fine, to be a follower. But if you do that too much, you might be led into things that you don’t want for yourself. Keep that in mind. Again, you might not have a choice in all of it. We never do. Not any of us.” He seemed dark and bitter for a moment, then it washed from his face, as if it had never existed at all.
She nodded, then left, since talking in vague terms about how her fate had been set for her by other people wasn’t going to help her at all. Worse, it was literally true for everyone in the world, more or less. What your parents did before you were born set the tone for your life. That carried to how you interacted with the world and so on. Even from hundreds of generations back in time, there would be ripples that played out, even as no one understood them.
Except the Greater Demons.
Tarsus at least had a clue about some of that kind of thing. The maps of it came to her, in full color, showing how entire civilizations rose and fell because of very unlikely things. Rome for instance, the civilization that shared her name, had actually fallen because of Etruscan pottery styles. Especially those invented by one man, who’d once been a slave, but earned his freedom by creating artworks of such splendor that people wept when they saw them.
Rome falling was still rippling through the entire world to that moment, of course. Even the way that Vampires held their relationships with others was directly influenced by the ancient Roman pattern. Which was how she was handling things with Phillip, which meant that her life was, after a fashion, affected by that simple potter.
It was really much worse than that, since it wasn’t just one thing that he’d influenced, but billions, over the years. That was a strong case, but most people did things like that, at least to a small extent. Every time they helped or harmed another, or even did their jobs, day to day, things were set in motion.
No one could track it all, thankfully. If they could, then they’d be a god. Possibly in truth.
Avery let all of that go for the moment, not feeling anything or caring about it at all. That didn’t mean she couldn’t move and do her work, of course. Or keep a schedule, as long as she didn’t lose track of time. It was close, but she had her plastic watch on, and kept an eye toward that. Jo-Ann’s Fabric was still open, so she shopped there, haggling with the manager to the point that the woman nearly kicked her out. She didn’t though and it saved her twenty-five percent on nearly two-thousand dollars’ worth of things. There was a simple sewing machine, plus a serger, as well as fabrics enough to make clothing for a dozen people. Perhaps not enough to clothe them all constantly for a year, but at least give them three or four good outfits.
That was all left at home, since she’d need to work in her bedroom if anything was really going to get done that night.
It only took two hours, so she jogged over to Pretty Plus and did what they had for her there, which wasn’t much at all. Only three simple fixes, taking in two of them and adding two false panels to another, so that it wouldn’t bind at the middle. No one even spoke to her, which was a bit different. It wasn’t until Avery was leaving that she dropped her meditation enough to realize that everyone there was worried and scared.
It took her a minute, but she focused for a while, then nodded at Valerie, who walked over, her face a bit pinched for her. Tight and worried.
“You’re missing people? Not from here, but from the sides? Lovers and friends?” It made sense, and got a single nod.
“Yes. How did you know?”
Avery shrugged.
“A lot of people have that going on. Call Calley Hale to organize that kind of thing. We need names, locations and who they’re connected with. The attacks have died down, but I think this might be why. Killing people didn’t work, so ransom is next.”
If it wasn’t just the execution of their friends, to anger and weaken them. That might work as well, but if so, then leaving the bodies all over the place, in public, would be enough for that and would have, almost certainly, already taken place.
Avery didn’t even need Tarsus or anyone else to explain it to her. It was all right there, laid out in front of her.
Val nodded, a bit stiffly.
“I’ll get that together. Thank you. For coming in and helping us here. Can I do anything for you?” The Alede reached out and touched her middle, which caused magic to dance off of her skin. Avery had to figure it was something like projected lust though, which for once might be useful for her.
“Possibly? My boyfriend is coming in soon, I think. I need to do some things with him, but want him to have fun as well. Do you want to help with that? I don’t really know what to do.” She didn’t talk about not caring much about it, since Val was smart enough to work that part out on her own.
“We can do that. Just come over when you’re ready. If I can’t do it, one of the others will. Is that all right, do you think? I can help you myself, of course. It’s just this other thing, getting in the way.”
As far as she was aware any of the Alede would work for that purpose. Val was pretty, but Kaitlyn was actually slightly more so. Though that was subjective and both were nearly too good looking for real life.
“That should work. I need to get with Kait anyway, since we might have plans for Friday. Work related things.”
That got a funny look, as if it might not make sense. Avery understood that, since for Val, her daughter’s work
involved books and line walking.
“Acting. I might have a part in a television show, with Krista Hall. Kaitlyn was going to attend a meeting with me, since they’re friends.”
The incredible looking blonde woman smiled suddenly.
“Red Rain? My mother is already working on that one. She’s out, as an Alede. My understanding is that she’s actually playing one of us for the program. That’s the very first time that’s ever happened. Judy Swan. I don’t know if you’ve met.”
Avery shook her head then.
“Probably on Friday. Neat. Anyway, I’ll hopefully be back in a while. Thanks, Val.”
The words got her a hug, that was probably closer than what friends did. The kiss definitely was, though Avery tried to do it back. It wasn’t doing anything for her, but she was nearly certain that rejecting the advance would be a bit like slapping the woman in the face at the moment. There was worry and the need to be reassured just then. When she pulled back the slightly taller woman’s nipples were standing up enough to show easily under her clothing.
Avery noticed the fine cut of the long-sleeved blouse. It was actually very nicely done.
Phillip wasn’t there at six. Not at seven, either, walking in at about forty minutes past that. He looked sheepish and was slightly red faced. She moved toward him, smiling, only to find Zack getting there first, shaking his hand. As soon as that happened, there was a nod of understanding.
“Well, things happen, when you’re starting out.” The Greater Demon turned to her and waved at the Human. “He got lost, ending up in Arizona for a while. Out in the desert, so it was a bit of a walk for him. You got here though, which is the important part. Next time you should try retracing sooner, if you can’t find your way in about three or four links. Normally you can, if you don’t have to travel that far.”
She waved at him then.
“You made it! I set something up, for later. Now… Do you want to watch me eat a lot of food, while you starve and I feel mean doing it?”